Guest Blog – crop circles and culinary creations

New Zealand is an under-the-radar sort of place in general. Understated. When Austrlian authorities were on high terror alert following threats and attacks a few years ago a NZ reporter asked a spokesman for one of the terrorist groups whether New Zealand would be included with Australia in those countries under threat. “New where?” came the reply. We are not well known here. That may be an aprocryphal story but it underlines the fact that not many of you will know that crop circles have started turning up in NZ again. In our garden. It just hasn’t been reported yet in the mainstream media. We blogged it first folks.  In typical NZ style it’s only one crop circle and quite small and strictly speaking not in the crops but in the grass. Anyway the aliens are here again and have the usual circular vendetta against things trying to grow in the paddock. Pesky aliens.

On a cheerier note Morv roasted her first chicken on Tuesday which was a great success for all including the chicken. It had led a happy free-range life, we are led to believe, and died with a smile on it’s cheery beak. Currently those are the only chickens Morv will eat (which I applaud). So if we are round at your house for chicken we don’t mind if you tell a white lie about the chicken’s provinence. We do like chicken a lot.  Earlier in the day we tried to do pancake day but it went a little wrong – thought you might want to see the evidence.

Today we are heading down to Dunedin for a couple of days. A road trip like the good old days. I’ve chosen a few cheesy tunes for the journey. Wish we still had Enrique “I can be your hero baby”!!! Not sure where we are going to stay yet so we’re taking the tent! Weather forcast is for rain so look out for some amusing wet-people pics in the next few days.

Bye for now.

ps The Chin is back in town for those who are missing her so watch this space….

Ooops

I did one of those silly things last night which I don’t often do. I went to pick J up after work (he finished at 10:30pm) and while I was sitting waiting I left the car lights on (by accident!) and so when it came time to go… the car couldn’t start!!! Rubbish!! I realised this just before J came out from work so I met him with a ‘I’m so sorry’. Of course being the ever so sweet husband that he is he replied by giving me a big kiss and saying ‘it’s lovely to see you, thanks for picking me up from work. Now let’s try and get the car started. You jump in and I’ll push.’ Of course, we live in Christchurch possibly the flatest city in the world!! Just as we started to push a man came to a car behind us and we asked if he could jump start it for us. And he replies ‘of course’… in a broad Glaswegian accent – you can always count on a Scotsman to be in the right place at the right time!! So we went for a wee drive round the city to charge the battery and then thankfully the car started at 4:45am when I drove Paul and Meg to the airport. Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson!

I’m just starting to read The Shack which everyone seems to be reading and I was given as a birthday gift (thanks Jacqui!!) It’s lovely to have a book to curl up with all cosy and read!!

beautiful day

There is something especially special about a day which is forecast to rain and then doesn’t but not only that the sunshine pours forth. So much so that we had lunch outside in the Botanic Garden sunshine…

weekend days

I’m afraid to say that I chose playing another game of Settlers over blogging properly – but it was worth it because Meg won!  (Now we’ve all won in the last few days!)

We’ve had a lovely couple of days and today especially the sun shone and the sky was blue and clear. We spent the afternoon in a nearby park watching Love’s Labour’s Lost being performed.

Can you see me, J and Meg just at the bottom of the screen (I’m the one with the long sleeve pink top and big sun hat!)

Yesterday too was nice and we had a Scottish guy called Rod round for dinner – none of us had met him before but Paul and Meg have mutual contacts with him in Scotland and they’d managed to get in touch. Obviously we introduced him to Settlers…

Yesterday was significant too in that I retired a deck of cards I’ve been playing with for the last seven years – in fact these cards have seen my through my seven year plan (which didn’t exactly go as planned – but worked out better!) and they’ve been with me all round the world. Good ol’ Tesco cards have had their day I’m afraid to say…

We went to the same church this morning as we did last week. We’re not 100% sure whether we’ll go there for the next 8 months but it was helpful to go again this morning.

And finally a wee picture of me and J outside our house.

a belated birthday

J’s dad (Paul!) celebrated his birthday two days ago and I didn’t mention it on the blog but I meant to so I’ll mention it now! We’ve so enjoyed having them in the country – even if they’re off tripping about it’s lovely to have some family in the same hemisphere! They’re arriving tomorrow for some Christchurch fun (read: Settlers!)

cabin fever

Rainy rainy day today. What can you do? The Geddes’ came round for breakfast and stayed until noon but then after that we kinda rattled around wishing we could be outside D O I N G something. In the end we read and watched Long Way Down (which we’re loving!!) and chatted and played games and then J made an absolutely delicious dinner before we finally decided to brave the drizzle and cycle round the park. It’s meant to rain again tomorrow… now if only we hadn’t finished the jigsaw!!

PS I’ve found one thing that is WAY better in Oz than NZ – the library system! Here you have to pay to reserve a book and you have to pay for the new bestsellers and you have to pay for the DVDs. I’m not liking that!!

PPS A BIG happy birthday to Catherine. Hope you had a lovely day!!

wasgij distraction

This’ll be a quick post because J and I are almost finished the 1000 piece jigsaw he gave me for my birthday and I don’t want him to finish it without me!!

We’re actually just back from the Arts Centre where they were showing a movie in the courtyard outside in order to raise money for the Emergency Department Care (or something like that). It was a lovely evening for sitting out on the grass watching a movie. Random film though (Happy-Go-Lucky) but a very pleasant evening out with my husband. And it’s so great to be able to cycle there and back!! We love how easy it is to cycle round Christchurch!

Right, the jigsaw is calling…

happy wednesday

Who couldn’t be happy with such beautiful flowers in their living room?

the above ones were a gift from the Jones’ (thanks muchly!)

Jonathan picked these from our garden (and commented that he was glad he did it before the Jones’ ones arrived!)

There is just something special about having fresh flowers about!

I’m also listening to Amy Macdonald’s album A LOT!! Really enjoying it. Good jigging about songs. And it’s awesome to hear her Scottish accent.

The highlight of today though was a wee visit from the Geddes’. We’re so glad they’re in Christchurch!! Now if we could only convince them to buy a house near to us…

Christmassy

As I was waving Jonathan off to work this morning I realised that I could see my breath (it was about 4 C). How excited was I?! It’s be SO long since that happened and now for the first time in a while I actually feel all Christmassy. Shame I have to wait another 310 days or so!!

All good

Well J had his first day of work today and it went well. Granted he spent this morning doing paperwork but he did see actual patients this afternoon and that all seemed fine and good. The best news (for me!) is that they wear scrubs in the ED which means no more washing and ironing of shirts for J (he doesn’t have many shirts which sometimes makes having a clean one ready for him to wear a bit tricky).

I had a lovely practical, productive house-wifely day.  Love it!

PS I have an English language question: why is awe-some really good but aw-ful  is really bad?!?